


A Blonde with a White Oak Stake

by Klarosims (atbucud)



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22014082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atbucud/pseuds/Klarosims
Summary: After years of running, for the first time, Klaus and his family are entering human society, and when they thought they were about to get away with it, they find themselves entangled with a beautiful witch who brings news of their father, Mikael.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 32
Collections: Klaroline Gift Exchange — New Year's Day





	A Blonde with a White Oak Stake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LaLainaJ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLainaJ/gifts).



Southern France, 1002 A.D.  
Klaus rubbed the pale skin on the dead girl’s wrist and watched as his thumb smear blood over the wound his teeth left behind. The absence of a pulse made him feel both guilty and alone as another group of people have been drained by their hands.   
Even while his siblings bickered and complained about their never-ending journey since they’ve turned, he felt alone. He looked at all of them and saw his mother once again. The image of her last breath and eyes boring deep into his own never left Klaus’ mind. He saw it when he looked at Rebekkah, felt his mother’s beating heart in his palms whenever he spoke to Elijah, and he swore he could hear her when his thoughts were idle.  
“Five of them. Five of us,” Rebekah called out to all of her brothers. Klaus found them all standing and did so as well, laying the dead girl’s wrist gently onto the grass. “Wherever they were off to, why can we not simply go in their stead?” she reasoned against Elijah.  
“Masquerade as nobles from a land we do not know, whose customs we cannot begin to understand. Ridiculous.”  
Ridiculous indeed thought Klaus. How could monsters like them possibly harmonize with human society again? After years and years on the road, attacking stragglers, and travelers, and lone villagers.  
“You saw the castle down the road, it was practically a gala. This bunch were headed there-- Look at them, they’re not any better than we are.” Klaus scoffed and so did Kol. Rebekah glared at them in turn. “We could live as they do, at least, for a time.” Suddenly Klaus’ ears twitched. He could hear something nearby. “Think of it. Elijah, we could hide in plain sight.” We could live ordinary lives--”  
“Silence.”   
A single word and all five of them were silenced. They heard it then, the rapidly beating heart, so close to where they stood among the littered dead bodies. Elijah followed the sound and walked over to the cart. He grabbed a thick red drape and lifted it. A man jumped out, sweat trickled down his forehead, and his pulse beat hard against his thin skin.  
Klaus felt his throat burn once again.   
“I can help you.” The stranger shakily called out. “Now, I am the personal servant to the Count de Martel. Of the very estate you just mentioned. I was sent to escort these guests to his home for a lengthy stay. I know their customs as well as the Count’s habits. If you mean to pose as the family you have slaughtered here then you’ll need my help to carry out your ruse. “  
Klaus suddenly found him interesting. His speech started garbled like a man about to piss himself, but the way he ended it made it feel like a declaration. He chose to stare at Elijah with his brows furrowed in both worry and determination as if he knew this is important to the Original family, and a an undeniable bargaining chip.  
“Please, can we keep him?”  
“Rebekkah, no.”  
Klaus listened as his siblings squabbled again. He stared at the shaking stranger, his head turning to each sibling as they spoke and decided his fate. He knew that if he didn’t intervene, Kol would tear his heart out before they could even hear out Rebekah.  
“Perhaps we should put it to a vote,” Klaus spoke out for the first time that day. All eyes suddenly turned to him. “All those in favor of letting him live?” Rebekkah and Finn raised their hands.  
“Those inclined to gut him?” Kol suddenly spoke out with his arm raised. Elijah’s soon followed. Kol stared at Klaus, “Well, Nik. What shall it be?”   
Klaus opened his mouth to take a breath and stared at the grass to avoid all of their eyes. He couldn’t let his thoughts run away with him any longer. He needed to keep himself away from the carnage and blood his family brought with them. He couldn’t let his siblings turn into half the monster he already is. Perhaps a little civilization will do his family some good and happiness for a time.  
He took a step closer to the shivering man and stared at him. He looked more terrified now, his eyes half-closed, willing himself not to cry in front of creatures that could kill him in an instant. Klaus grabs his shoulder, making the man squeak against his grasp.   
“If any harm comes to my family because of you, I will make sure your death will not be as quick as the others.”  
The man almost choked on his words, “Of course.”  
\----  
The whole ride was filled by Lucien and Rebekkah’s chattering, mostly Rebekkah who kept gushing at everything Lucien explained and hounded him with questions about gowns, and balls, and knights, and the king and queen, and the food.  
“Food, sister? It’s not like we can eat their food,” Kol interrupted.  
“It might not sustain us, dear brother, but we have yet to try if we can still enjoy them,” she smiled at Lucien and prompted him to continue the delicacies in the Count’s manor.  
When they arrived, Klaus and his brothers found themselves speechless by the enormity and grandness of the manor. It seemed to them a palace fit for a king.  
“There,” an old man, perhaps the only elder any of them has ever seen in their Viking and vampire lives, sat with on a throne with complacent authority. “You see the Count de Martel? You address him as ‘Your Grace.’ All the other nobles as ‘m’lord.’ ”  
Despite his initial rejection of the idea, Klaus heard Kol mutter “Your Grace” under his breath. Klaus, too, let Lucien’s instructions roll of his tongue.   
“And when you speak to the Count, you should speak of hunting. He loves his hawks and his hounds. And, um, bow deep, m’lady Rebekah, he also relishes a healthy cleavage.”  
As soon as they entered the chamber, the brothers’ had zoned out Lucien’s words and were admiring the interior architecture. Klaus himself was examining the intricate design of the balcony above the throne, with its ornate carvings of angels and demons battling for their own salvation over the other.  
His eyes followed the battle scene until his gaze reached the long candle-like fingers resting on the balcony. He followed the light blue sleeves up to the low cut neckline bordered with golden lace. Before he could explore her chest, he felt an intense gaze on him. He looked up and found soft blonde curls framing electric blue eyes that were staring into his. He saw her pupils widen and heard the whispered gasp that escaped her lips.  
“For God’s sake, all of you, stop looking up,” Lucien’s words had snapped Klaus back onto the chamber floor. He looked at his brothers and found them looking at him.  
“This isn’t going to work, is it?” Rebekah said, completely unaware of what just occurred.  
They ignored her and allowed Lucien to lead them to the count while they whispered amongst themselves. “Did you hear her?” Kol snapped at Klaus. “She said Niklaus as if she knew you.”  
Klaus shook his head. He didn’t hear her. The moment their eyes met his other senses stopped working.  
“I’m more interested in what I didn’t hear,” Elijah growled in a low voice.  
“She had no heartbeat,” replied Finn.  
“That’s not possible,” Klaus snapped, making the four of them stop in the middle of the hall, making Lucien nervous and scolded them. Slowly they fell back into step. “We are the only ones…” Klaus trailed off as they stood before the count.  
\---  
Rebekah had been dancing for the better part of the next hour while the four boys found themselves huddled in a corner with Lucien at the left-center. They hounded him about the heartless blonde girl.   
“Trust me, I do not know her. She m-must have arrived when I was tasked to escort Count de Guise and his family.”   
Kol growled, “I don’t believe you.”  
“Perhaps…” a commanding voice permeated their conference. It forced all of their eyes away from Lucien and to the beautiful blonde who stood before them with her hands grasping the skirts of her gown. “I may be of help. My lords,” she humbly curtsied before them. The four of them were stunned. But the young girl did not stand up right away.  
“B-bow. Bow,” Lucien murmured to them.  
Each one gave a slight bow and at last, she stood. She smiled at them. Klaus found it both giving off a warm sensation and inciting a sense of caution.  
“Caroline Forbes, from the British Isles my lords,” she smiled at each of them in turn. “I would also like to make it clear that I am not one of you. Exactly.”   
Klaus felt his brothers stiffen at her words. He snarled at her, “And what might that be, my lady?”  
Caroline turned her, her smile falling slightly from her face, replaced with an open mouth and eyes curiously lingering over his features as if waiting for something to show.  
“An abomination,” she deadpanned. She turned to Elijah and Finn with a scowl on her face, “At least that is what your father is calling you.”  
The air between them suddenly grew heavy and Klaus can feel the veins threatening to protrude above his skin. “You--”   
A booming clap rattled the whole chamber. The brothers half-turned toward the count. “Why am I seeing more standing and chattering than dancing and laughing at my ball!” he bellows with soft laughter. “Dance! Dance!”   
“My lord,” Caroline turned to Klaus, “I believe it is customary to dance at a ball.” Her brows were lifted, challenging him.  
Klaus took a step forward but Elijah grabbed his shoulder, “Niklaus, she knows Mikael. She’s dangerous.”  
“I am,” she announced to all of them with great defiance. “I am dangerous but not to you, my lords.” She waited for Klaus, standing with her hands clasped in front of her lap.  
Klaus turned to Elijah, “She seems to have more to say and if you will it brother I’d like to hear it. Especially as it involves our dearest father.”  
\---  
Klaus stumbled on his feet and found himself being lifted by Caroline. "You should've have told me you didn't know how to dance. We could have simply stepped outside for some fresh air," she whispered.  
Klaus scoffed, "And lure me helplessly towards my heartless father."  
"I told you," Caroline held him tightly, as tight as she could against hybrid and led both them into the dance. "I'm not your enemy. It's the opposite, actually."  
Klaus raised his eyebrows, "An ally then?"  
"More or less," Caroline pushed herself away and tugged on his arm to pull her back in a spin. When her back was against his chest, she whispered, "I want Mikael dead."  
Abruptly, Klaus lets twirl away again so he could see his face. He was not disappointed. He could see the lines on her forehead, and her eyebrows meeting in the middle, and her eyes furiously glinting like deep ocean trenches.  
When Caroline made her back to stand in front of him, she finally spoke again, "Mikael has been visiting covens and enlisting them in his hunt for you, leaving no choice but to say yes." Klaus watched the glint in her eyes flash and his hand pressed harder against her lower back, "But my coven refused."  
The tune of the song changed every partner had to stand away from each other. But the moment Caroline stepped away, he could see the gloss of tears covering her glaring eyes. She sniffed before rubbed her eyes before disappearing into the crowd. Klaus followed her as humanly possible and bumped into other dancers and drunkards in the ball. He finally found her in an empty corridor, standing behind a large window.  
He approached her cautiously and almost lifted his hand to comfort her but thought otherwise. Instead, he leaned against the window and whispered, "He murdered them." It wasn't a question but Caroline shook her head.  
"I did," she whispered. Klaus stared at her but she wouldn't return his gaze and continued to set her eyes on the stained glass of the window. "What Mikael had in plan for us was much MUCH worse," she shivered. Caroline took a deep breath, "I gave them the poison-- made it. I was supposed to take it as well but--" Klaus watched as the distraught blonde closed and opened her mouth, forming words inside her head. Finally, she finished, "I have to avenge my coven-- my family before I can go peacefully."  
Klaus let the silence fill the air for a moment too long because he found his brother Elijah sneaking a look at them from the chamber. He knew they had been listening the whole time and the look on his brother's face was that of impatience. Gently, Klaus grazed Caroline's arm and found it interesting that she didn't flinch. "You failed to kill him but got away."  
"I didn't. At first," her voice sounded stronger now. She turned to him and Klaus found himself unable to look away. His hand found itself supporting her elbow as she leaned closer. Slowly, dark veins appeared around her eyes, her red eyes shrouded in complete darkness. "He turned me into a vampire and fed from me for years. When he found out about the trail of bodies you and your siblings left along the coastlines, he grew aggravated about how close you were and got careless. Finally, I escaped." Caroline felt Klaus moving away from her. She grabbed his arms and found that it was only the shock of being held that stopped him from leaving. "I am not working for him. He was tracking me and I didn't know who else to seek help from but the very people that have eluded him for years. Please."   
The tears have disappeared from her eyes and the furious glint has returned to her ocean eyes. Klaus found himself staring deep into the eyes of the woman that sounded both begging and demanding his help.   
His brothers and Rebekah were all in the corridor now, watching them closely. "Step away from her, brother," said Elijah.  
"If Mikael is also after her then we're all sitting ducks and about to be dead soon," scowled Kol.  
"I know how to cover my tracks," Caroline snapped, "I've been here in count's manor for months and he still hasn't found me." She turned back to Klaus, "I'm not just asking for your help. I can help you hide from Mikael and eventually we should all be able to kill him."  
"Eventually," Finn scoffs.  
This made Caroline blush but her eyes were glaring at the floor. "Yes. Eventually. When we find out how to subdue Mikael enough to stab him in the heart."  
"Newsflash, little vampire, we are immortal," snide Kol.  
"No, we're not," snapped Rebekah, forcing everyone to turn to her. "A steak to the heart with a white oak stake," she said to Caroline as her brothers groaned. "That is what kills us."  
Caroline gulped and slowly she reached lifted the hems of her skirts until she could reach in and take out the stake strapped between her legs. The siblings' mouths opened and Caroline spoke before any of them could utter a word, "I told you. He got extremely careless." Caroline saw them step away from her. Slowly she turned to Klaus and opened her palm with the stake on lying on it. "Consider this a show of faith, for you to trust me."  
She waited as Klaus stared between her and the stake. Finally, he took it from her grasp and held it as hard as he could, the weapon that could end his family as well as the nightmare that has chased them for years.  
"Are we good then?" Caroline asked, looking from one Mikaelson to another. None of them responded. "Your lack of a response is better than what I could have hoped for."  
Even for Klaus, silence meant that his siblings had no qualms and cause for a squabble. It was the only response that meant they were all finally on the same page and all it took was a blonde and the white oak stake of their father.


End file.
